Breaking Down The Atlanta Falcons Safety Group Heading Into Week 1
The Atlanta Falcons have trimmed their roster down to 53 players, which means that football is here.
Now that the roster is set, we can breakdown each position group.
When healthy the Falcons safety room is one of the best in the league, but they have not been healthy been completely healthy in two seasons now.
Here are the safeties on the final roster:
Keanu Neal
Ricardo Allen
Damontae Kazee
Jaylinn Hawkins
Neal returned to camp this year after missing all but three games last season with an Achilles injury. He missed the entire 2018 season due to a torn ACL. Before the injures, Neal was a Pro Bowl safety and the Falcons are hoping that he can regain that form this season.
Allen played in every game last season after missing 2018 with an Achilles injury. He was voted as a captain this year, which shows the leadership skills that he brings to the team. Allen is solid against both the run and the pass and should continue to provide stability in the back end of the Falcons defense.
Kazee has taken advantage of the extended playing time that he has received with all of the injuries. He is probably the ballhawk of the group with 10 career interceptions, he can also play in the nickel position as well. Kazee started his career as a corner and then converted to safety. Even with Neal back, he will continue to play safety.
Hawkins is a rookie out of California. The Falcons took him in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He could see some time at safety this year, but will likely see the majority of his playing time on special teams. If the rookie does see extended action at safety this season, it probably means there was another injury somewhere.
When Kazee spoke to the media a few weeks ago, he mentioned that there are several packages where he, Allen and Neal are all on the field at the same time. He also mentioned that there were no starters between the safeties, so it seems as if they will split time on the field this season.
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